• Don’t Leave Home Without These Seventh Chord Types

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    There are seventh chord types that are the backbone of popular music harmony.

    These seventh chord types have a common place in everyday average songs ranging from congregational and hymn songs, to radio commercials, and so on; and it’s important for you to learn and master them in all 12 keys.

    Beyond their common place in popular music, these seventh chords are readily found in the 2-5-1 progression. Consequently, we’ll get started with a breakdown of the 2-5-1 chord progression.

    A Breakdown Of The 2-5-1 Chord Progression

    The 2-5-1 chord progression is a product of the movement of chords from the 2nd to the 5th, then to the 1st tone of the scale in a given key.

    Due to the fact that there are two key types — the major key and the minor key — we’ll be exploring two 2-5-1 chord progression types:

    The major 2-5-1 chord progression

    The minor 2-5-1 chord progression

    The Major 2-5-1 Chord Progression

    The 2-5-1 chord progression of the major key is the major 2-5-1 chord progression.

    In the key of C major:

    …the second, fifth, and first tones are D:

    …G:

    …and C:

    …respectively.

    “Let’s Go Ahead And Outline The Chords For The Progression…”

    On the second tone (which is D):

    …we have the D minor seventh chord:

    On the fifth tone (which is G):

    …we have the G dominant seventh chord:

    On the first tone (which is C):

    …we have the C major seventh chord:

    From the major 2-5-1 chord progression, we can see three seventh chord types:

    The minor seventh chord

    The dominant seventh chord

    The major seventh chord

    The seventh chord types we realized from the major 2-5-1 chord progression are part of the essential seventh chord types every serious musician must know.

    The Minor 2-5-1 Chord Progression

    The minor 2-5-1 chord progression is the 2-5-1 chord progression of the minor key.

    In the key of A minor:

    …the second, fifth, and first tones are B:

    …E:

    …and A:

    …respectively.

    “Let’s Go Ahead And Outline The Chords For The Progression…”

    On the second tone (which is B):

    …we have the B half-diminished seventh chord:

    On the fifth tone (which is E):

    …we have the E dominant seventh chord:

    On the first tone (which is C):

    …we have the A minor seventh chord:

    From the minor 2-5-1 chord progression, we can see three seventh chord types:

    The half-diminished seventh chord

    The dominant seventh chord

    The minor seventh chord

    The seventh chord types we realized from the major 2-5-1 chord progression are also part of the essential seventh chord types every serious musician must know.

    Essential Seventh Chords You Shouldn’t Be Without

    Although there are several seventh chord types, there are specific seventh chord types that occur frequently in popular music and they can be found readily in the 2-5-1 chord progressions we covered in the previous segment.

    The 2-5-1 is one of the most important chord progressions in jazz and gospel music and every serious musician who wants to learn how to play the 2-5-1 chord progression must start by learning these seventh chords.

    Invest the rest of your time in learning these essential chord types.

    The Minor Seventh Chord

    The C minor seventh chord:

    The C# minor seventh chord:

    The D minor seventh chord:

    The Eb minor seventh chord:

    The E minor seventh chord:

    The F minor seventh chord:

    The F# minor seventh chord:

    The G minor seventh chord:

    The G# minor seventh chord:

    The A minor seventh chord:

    The Bb minor seventh chord:

    The B minor seventh chord:

    The Dominant Seventh Chord

    The C dominant seventh chord:

    The Db dominant seventh chord:

    The D dominant seventh chord:

    The Eb dominant seventh chord:

    The E dominant seventh chord:

    The F dominant seventh chord:

    The F# dominant seventh chord:

    The G dominant seventh chord:

    The Ab dominant seventh chord:

    The A dominant seventh chord:

    The Bb dominant seventh chord:

    The B dominant seventh chord:

    The Major Seventh Chord

    The C major seventh chord:

    The Db major seventh chord:

    The D major seventh chord:

    The Eb major seventh chord:

    The E major seventh chord:

    The F major seventh chord:

    The F# major seventh chord:

    The G major seventh chord:

    The Ab major seventh chord:

    The A major seventh chord:

    The Bb major seventh chord:

    The B major seventh chord:

    The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord

    The C half-diminished seventh chord:

    The C# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The D half-diminished seventh chord:

    The Eb half-diminished seventh chord:

    The E half-diminished seventh chord:

    The F half-diminished seventh chord:

    The F# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The G half-diminished seventh chord:

    The G# half-diminished seventh chord:

    The A half-diminished seventh chord:

    The Bb half-diminished seventh chord:

    The B half-diminished seventh chord:

    Final Words

    I hope the information in this blog is helpful to you. Please do invest your time and energy in memorizing them in all twelve keys.

    See you in the next lesson.

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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